The number of black renter households in the suburbs increased by 62 percent between 1970 and 1976 while the growth rate of suburban black households in owner-occupied units was only 38 percent. This disproportionate increase in the suburban black renter population may signal the existence of significany unmet demand for homeownership that cannot be explained solely on income grounds. Earlier re1earch by the Center for Urban Policy Research has uncovered significant institutional barriers to suburban black homeownership, taking the form of unequal access to information, less advantageous financing terms, and discriminatory practices of real estate brokers. This study seeks to determine what proportion of the differential in growth rates of black renter and black owner-occupied suburban housing units is attibutable to institutional barriers confronting prospective black homebuyers. To examine this question, we will survey matched samples of black and white renter households in selected New Jersey communities and compare their characteristics to those of successful homebuyers interviewed as part of an earlier study. Of interest will be the frquency with which black suburban renter households report direct experience with institutional barriers in previous attempts at housing search and home purchase. Application of white homebuyer characteristics (income, life cycle, preferences) to the suburban black renter sample will reveal what proportion of this group couldbe expected to be homebuyers in the absence of institutional constraints.